Named plaintiffs, Christopher Carr and Shureene Newsome, claim that Bob Evans forces tipped employees to spend over half of their workweek on tasks normally relegated to non-tipped employees. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), employers are allowed to pay employees less than the minimum wage if the difference is made up with tips. The FLSA is designed to protect tipped employees from the circumstances under which the plaintiffs in this suit claim they have been working. The FLSA states that tipped employees may only spend a maximum of 20% of their workweek performing non-tipped tasks. Plaintiffs argue that not only did Bob Evans knowingly violate the FLSA, the restaurant chain also knowingly concealed workers’ rights.

Bob Evans is a national chain with more than 500 locations. The suit is seeking to represent a nationwide class of tipped employees who worked at the restaurant in the last three years.

The case is: Carr et al. v. Bob Evans Farms Inc. et al., Case No.: 1:17-cv-01875, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.